Dale: Take off your vest. My opinion coincides with yours. Without mentioning names, some high quality hammers from a high quality supplier are intrinsically too hard to be stable or stabilized for any length of time. I would always rather work a hammer up than down. My opinion is that the hardening agent (read densifying or stiffening or whatever you wish), whatever creates a serious tensioned surface (a portion of a spring) is likely to be more stable over time. Not too large a generalization, I think. PR-J
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC